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Javascript: 101
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How many hours are you spending on Javascript 101 every week
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Hello,
I am trying to get a feel of how intense this course is for the participants taking it.
Can you please answer with the number of hours you are giving to this course per week. Also mention if this is optimal, less, or more for you.
--
Thanks
Parag
I think I spend less than 5 hours/week on the course. I'd like to be spending more -- especially around writing programs. And the programs should be independent of each other instead of having them build on each other.
It was about the same for me Weeks 1 and 2, perhaps a little more.
I can only guess about my Week 3 hours because my timetable got screwed up for that week and I am doing it together with Week 4. I suspect it might be double that before I even do the exercises. Perhaps this depends also how much further reading one wants to do.
Fortunately week 4 is more straightforward although I haven't looked at the exercises yet.
I'd say I was spending around 8-10 hours a week. I'm finding it tough to find that amount of time every week on top of other commitments. However I don't think you could realistically expect the content to be reduced with the amount there is to be covered. I probably just need to work faster!
Personally I think there's plenty of content each week for people to play around with and experiment with if they're finishing the course content quickly.
I'd say about 6-8 hours per week for Track 2. I think it's about the right amount of time.
~4 hours per week on track 1. Week 3 was a heck of a lot more work than previous weeks. The videos are great btw
With the Week 4 assignments in track 1, my time spent was just right. A moderate amount of questions, mostly covered in the lecture. By the time I finished the code, I had spent about 4 hours.
I would agree that Week 3 was much more work, only because I found those particular code examples to be hard to grasp at first. But I am much better now because of it! I would not have been able to complete it if I didn't have so much time due to being out of work, and if I didn't already have years of programming experience.
In general 8-10 hrs. Week 3 was a killer mainly because of the programming exercises even though I have years of programming experience. I blame all my mistakes on Java. Week 4 was easy in comparison.
It's taking me like 4 to 5 hours. I think it's appropriate.
Probably 8-10 hours a week, depending on how complex the reading and homework is, which seems reasonable to me.
~4 hours per week , on track 1.
I think it's optimal
i'm spending about 5-6 hours, sometimes a bit more, per week. it seems like a lot, given other commitments, but i don't think i'd want to see a reduction in content or assignments. i feel like i'm learning a lot and i know that once it's over i'll be glad i did it!
i'm spending about 5-6 hours, sometimes a bit more, per week. it seems like a lot, given other commitments, but i don't think i'd want to see a reduction in content or assignments. i feel like i'm learning a lot and i know that once it's over i'll be glad i did it!
From 4-6 hours or so. I feels about right to me.
about 5-6 hours for first 2 weeks; was under a lot of pressure the last two weeks, so got a lot of catching up to do. I think I will be spending about 10-12 hours this week.
10+ for me, which is a bit much. But this is also my first attempt at learning any sort of programming language. I've been trying my best to complete the homework without viewing the work of others, only to end up frustrated and forced to "cheat" a bit for the difficult exercises. Are there any other programming virgins that are sharing the same difficulties?
Hi Eric,
Learning the first programming language usually takes more time, but after you become comfortable with one, then learning the next will be a lot easier.
It is OK if you have to cheat a bit on the exercises,but when you find yourself doing that, try and make notes of what you could not remember, or understand, that made you cheat a bit. These notes will not only help you understand the concept, but will also serve as good lookup reference.
Yep, I'm a fellow programming virgin, Eric. I spend a lot of time reading and re-reading the texts, watching and re-watching the videos, and not making much headway in my understanding. I've been successfully 'using' javascript for years (especially with jquery) to enhance web pages by sourcing and adapting javascript code without really understanding how it actually works, so I was hoping this course would help improve that understanding, which it has to some extent, but I think learning a programming language is probably akin to learning a language like Chinese or Arabic, it takes years of dedicated study and application to master it.
Hi Pete,
When you say "not making much headway in my understanding", I am assuming that you mean certain concepts are not clear. Try to write about what you do not understand. You will come up with a list of questions, which you can then ask on the forums. I am sure this will help you understand the material better.
Dedicated study does help, but practice, and introspection (at least in my opinion) is extremely important.
Sorry for answering late, I have been really busy.
I try to spend at least 5 hours of reading, watching and programming every week. But I have noticed that it's not enough time for me some weeks.
On Track 2 I probably spent 10+ hours on Week 3, 7 or so the rest of the time. I breeze through the readings and grasp the concepts easily, but Eloquent JavaScript's successive examples and exercises, building upon all past functions, are more than just a bit difficult for a 'programming virgin', so almost all of my time is spent making sense of them. The level of abstraction is too high too fast. I could not sit down right now and code them from scratch, so I am forced to look through the author's and other students' results and to fudge my own attempts. I feel that true beginners would be much better served by drilling and manipulating the basics rather than attempting eloquence. Only savants like Daniel Tammet are going to be eloquent speakers of Sanskrit after 6 weeks. With that said, I don't believe I have gained skill comparable to my effort. Still, it's more than what I started with.
Hi Jason, I agree, that the examples in Eloquent Javascript have been a frustrating experience for many, due to their building over previous examples, and also due to using the EJ console. In retrospect, perhaps using Eloquent Javascript was not a good decision.
You say
" I feel that true beginners would be much better served by drilling and manipulating the basics rather than attempting eloquence".
I totally agree. Your point is very well taken.
You say
" I don't believe I have gained skill comparable to my effort. Still, it's more than what I started with."
Your feedback has been very helpful, and I truly hope I could go back in time, change a few things and offer a better experience to the entire group. But I will surely take all these points into consideration for future courses.
Thanks
Hi Parag!
Just reread my post. Sounds pretty negative, doesn't it. I just wanted to let you know that I did learn quite a bit, and overall had a pretty good experience. The best part, for sure, were the organizers. You guys, I think, ran a pretty tip-top course. From the beginning, the course website was complete and detailed, and ensuing assignments were likewise quite comprehensive - something other courses lacked. Then, you guys took the time to answer pretty much every question/comment I saw in the forums. There is no fault in you. I have looked all over the web and through all sorts of books for better methods of learning. I'd say this one comes pretty close to the top, and just about as high as any course without an inherited curriculum that has already seen a couple of gos could come. The issue of infrastructure is probably one for P2PU as a whole. So thanks for your efforts, and I think it's cool that you took something away from the course, too. Cheers
Hi Parag,
I haven't been active due to work and all (on a tight schedule). I have only spent 4 hours on week 1. I aim to finish them all before end of week 6.
Cheers